It was only a short stay for two days, but even a few hours and it would be impossible to not fall in love with the lifestyle city Istanbul.
The contemporary Istanbul – a trip to a avantgarde city
By feature reporter and influencer Jens Hoffman
Photos: Annamaria Veszeli
Istanbul boasts a thriving hotel scene.
We love the Ciragan Palace Kempinski and also the Marmara hotels.
More and more you will find also a great art scene in Istanbul, a lot of bars on the roof and amazing restaurants, even more and more Michelin restaurants.
A must for a great sundowner, with staggering, almost surreal views.
I promise.
Food, beverages and service throughout the city are mostly everywhere excellent.
Where to eat in Istanbul:
Seriously, you are unlucky if you not eat well in Istanbul, even close to the major tourist hubs you get yummy food.
We ate well at 10 Besteklar, Osman Sokak, a long-established Turkish restaurant, not far away from Sultanahmet Square.
Here they serve a mean Lamb in a Burning Pot (Testi Kebap), a speciality of the city.
The long-cooked stew arrives at the table on fire.
Balikci Sabahattin (Sabahattin the Fisherman). Balikci is a superb restaurant, full of locals and serving excellent fresh fish and seafood.
It is pricier than the smaller, simpler places but still good value.
What to eat in Istanbul:
Whatever the locals are eating, and you can never go wrong with that simple premise.
For me, with a flexitarian approach to meat, I stuck to the mezze starter plate (hummus, Iman Biyaldi, chickpeas).
All of this followed by salat and fresh grilled fish.
For the carnivore, try the Testi Kebap, plus, many other Kebabs.
Forget any memories you have of one after a night out on the town kebab; there is no comparison.
Chicken, beef, and goat feature heavily, no pork.
Fish naturally is readily available and very reasonably priced.
Sweet tooth, well, of course, there is the ubiquitous Turkish Delight, and you will be hard pushed to avoid it.
But give a thought too to Turkish pastries.
Give Kadayif a try, similar but so much better that Baklava. Here the filo pastry is shredded and soaked in syrup before taking on the usual varieties of Baklava fillings.
Turkey is the second largest producer of tea (çay).
Check out the Caydanlık, the double Turkish tea kettle. This method produces a punchy, hot tea and is now a favourite of mine.
Turkish coffee too has its style coming again strong and prepared in an ibrik, a small coffee pot that is heated. Caffeine-free fruit teas are as traditional as çay in Turkey, and Apple (Elma çay) is so refreshing in the heat.
Turkey produces good wines and beer, the local brew is Efes.
You can lose yourself in the mosque, Bazaars and fashion stores.
Mosques, at least the Blue if you only have time for one.
Despite the Mosques attracting many tourists, they are religious places and so respecting customs, gender-specific areas, and covering up as required.
The Blue Mosque provide all the necessary free of charge.
A boat trip if you have the time is another way to soak up more of what this fabulous city is all about.
Head to the Galata Bridge and good luck as there are hundreds to choose from. We were lucky, by asking a few sellers, one, somehow, stood out from the rest. We had an enjoyable 2 hour trip for just short of a fiver.
Walking is a must, the Sultanahmet is great, also the Topkapi Palace gardens, beside the river to Galata Bridge. After the boat trip, we crossed the bridge (a sight in itself), climbing up through tiny streets towards the Galata tower.
There we had a lovely dinner with a view followed by a nice walk back to the Ciragan Palace hotel, shopping and taking in the atmosphere.
We enjoyed it.
The style of Istanbul is still in my mind.
Hotels to recommend:
Ciragan Palace Kempinski
We will be back soon.
